Method for providing oxygen enhanced air for use in metallurgical processes
AssigneeMannesmann Demag AG
InventorGunter Ratschat
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for regulating the percentage quantities of individual gases present in the combustion air supplied for reaction processes in metallurgy. This is achieved by utilizing molecular sieve absorption processes upon the intake air in a sequential manner to remove undesirable gases attendant with the intake air and to enhance and regulate the quantity of oxygen present. The arrangement may be operated in a continuous manner through the utilization of several molecular sieve devices wherein one of such devices may be purged for regeneration and later use by countercurrent flow of heated intake air which air has been heated by the heat derived from the metallurgical reaction process in the first place.
Claims9
A method for regulating the percentages of individual gaseous constituents being provided to a metallurgical reaction process, comprising the steps of
- (a) obtaining a supply of ambient air;
- (b) passing said ambient air in a first direction through a zeolite molecular sieve material having a crystal lattice structure;
- (c) entrapping inert gaseous constituents in said crystal lattice structure of said molecular sieve material, thereby enhancing the relative oxygen content of said air while simultaneously decreasing the absolute and relative amounts of said inert gaseous constituents of said ambient air;
- (d) providing said now oxygen-enhanced air to a metallurgical reaction process for use therewith;
- and
- (e) regenerating said molecular sieve material by first heating said molecular sieve material by passing a source of heated gas through said molecular sieve material in a second direction, said gas being heated by the recovered heat of said metallurgical reaction process, and by then cooling said molecular sieve material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.